cocktail1

any of various short mixed drinks, consisting typically of gin, whiskey, rum, vodka, or brandy, with different admixtures, as vermouth, fruit juices, or flavorings, usually chilled and frequently sweetened.

2.

a portion of food, as seafood served with a sauce, a mixture of fruits, or juice, served as the appetizer course of a meal.

first attested 1806; H.L. Mencken lists seven versions of its origin, perhaps the most persuasive is French coquetier "egg-cup" (15c.; in English cocktay). In New Orleans, c.1795, Antoine Amédée Peychaud, an apothecary (and inventor of Peychaud bitters) held Masonic social gatherings at his pharmacy, where he mixed brandy toddies with his own bitters and served them in an egg-cup. On this theory, the drink took the name of the cup. Used from 1920s of any mix of substances (e.g. fruit, Molotov). Cocktail party first attested 1928.